The present invention is a bulldozer attachment. More specifically the present invention is a bulldozer blade attachment designed to facilitate the fine grading of a parcel of land.
The process of using a tractor equipped with a bulldozer blade to grade a parcel of land is a common chore in the construction trade, typically necessary to produce a building or a paved lot. Although road graders are available, these devices are cumbersome for the grading of a parcel of land with boundaries in two dimensions, as opposed to a road that extends indefinitely in its longitudinal dimension. Although a power roller may be used to finish the job of compacting, this is not always practical.
Typically, the grading process is performed by driving the bulldozer back and forth across a first strip of land in the parcel until that strip is relatively flat and compacted. As the bulldozer is driven forward any high ground is scooped into the pile of earth that is pushed along in front of the bulldozer. In turn, this pile serves to fill in troughs as it travels forward. When this pile is large, the process takes place easily. But during fine grading, toward the end of the process, the smaller dirt pile may be largely supported by the bulldozer blade and, may not drop off to fill in depressions as easily. On the backstroke, a similar process takes place, with the backside of the bulldozer blade also performing some compaction. The bulldozer then moves to a second, adjoining strip of land in the parcel and smoothes and compacts the earth there, taking care to make it level with the land in the first strip. This process continues until the parcel is completed.
Hampering this process is the fact that the backside of a bulldozer blade is not specifically designed to compact earth. Nor is a bulldozer blade well adapted to perform fine grading on the forward stroke. Because the bulldozer is too sharp to be rested on the earth, its position is set by the earth under the tractor treads, which determines the tractor position, and operator intervention. A smoothing device that could rest on the soil would be far more responsive to the local soil level, which would be beneficial in fine grading.
An additional problem is encountered when performing grading work near a building or foundation. A typical tractor used to push a bulldozer blade may weigh several tons. The vibrations caused by the movement of this large weight may damage nearby underground structures. If the bulldozer is called upon to grade a land parcel that abuts a building or foundation, it may be quite difficult to perform this work without causing some damage.
In a first separate aspect, the present invention is a fine grading attachment, adapted to be affixed to a bulldozer blade and comprising an elongate body having fasteners, adapted to affix the attachment to a bulldozer blade in a predetermined orientation. In this orientation the length of the elongate body extends along and in front of the bottom of the bulldozer blade and the front face of the attachment is disposed to be vertical or to slope forwardly as it extends from bottom to top when the bulldozer blade is positioned so that the attachment contacts the soil.
In a second separate aspect, the present invention is a method of grading a first and a second parcel of land. The method comprises providing a tractor equipped with a bulldozer blade, that in turn bears a collapsible fine grading attachment placed in its extended state, and using the bulldozer blade to grade the first parcel of land. Then the fine grading attachment is collapsed and the tractor is driven onto a road conveyance, which is driven to the second parcel of land. At that point the fine grading attachment is expanded and the bulldozer blade is used to grade the second parcel of land.
The foregoing and other objectives, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment(s), taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.